Staying at The Forest Lodge in Baguio City did not require us dining only at The Twist or side-tracking to its neighbor hotel-restaurant, Le Chef at The Manor. Of course, we were also free to eat at other places inside John Hay and even outside the camp. With a wide selection of outlet stores, charming cafes and specialty restaurants on sight, the Mile Hi Center fronting The Manor caught our attention. For late lunch, we decided to try Carlo’s Pizza.

Carlo’s Pizza is an Italian, casual dining restaurant with 13 outlets in different parts of Metro Manila. It’s interesting to learn that this branch in Camp John Hay is the first of Carlo’s Pizza which was established way back in March 2002.

Hosting a cozy ambiance for some relaxing meal, Carlo’s Pizza has kept its interior design simple. Bright yellow wall paint and hanged pictures of food and relevant pictures can drive customers’ senses to a creative frenzy. The vibe was laid-back. My only gripe was that the space was quite cramped with tables and chairs put side-by-side, making everyone hard to move around.

Service: ★★☆☆☆

The server for our table was familiar with Carlo’s Pizza’s menu and was good at recommending the best dishes. The thing that broke their five-star score for “service” was the staffs’ lack of attention. There seemed enough manpower with three to four of them working for about five active tables in a dining room whose size was pretty manageable for everyone to handle.

I kept raising my hand, hoping for them to take notice. Without luck, I had to stand up a few times to make them aware of my presence. There was even a time when the guy at the counter already met my gaze and saw my arm up high, and he still failed to reach out to us or conveyed to a coworker about it. I was asking for the bill. Ugh, I hate the feeling of being ignored as a paying customer. Who doesn’t?

Food: ★★★★☆

The Nachos Supreme (PhP 235) consisted of crunchy and colorful feast of nachos topped with seasoned ground beef, mushrooms, black olives, jalapeno chilies, tomato salsa and creamy cheese sauce. It was an easy favorite since the distinctive flavors and components were all intact. Nachos with these ingredients left our lips greasy but that’s okay. The varied texture was creative.

Appropriate amount of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese made the Lasagna alla Carlo (PhP 190) a winner. It was composed of layers of homemade lasagna pasta, meat sauce, Italian sausage, creamy cheese, bechamel, and pepperoni. Overall, a good balance of proportions of ingredients made this lasagna a gratifying treat.

The Pizza Capriccioso (Regular 9″: PhP 285, Large 12″: PhP 395, Family 15″: PhP 560) with pepperoni, ham, bacon, Italian sausage, mushrooms, black olives, onion and green pepper was triumphant. While ingredients were plenty, they all worked. The pizza was made with freshly made dough, punctuated and drizzled with olive oil, and stone-baked with imported pizza sauce made from Roma and tomatoes blended with herbs and spices. It was most unique on the menu with rich flavor worth trying.

Note: All the pizzas are handmade to order hence there’s an expected waiting time of about 20 to 30 minutes.

The one thing that didn’t beat my expectation was Carlo’s Pizza’s Creamy Pesto Pasta (PhP 175)—pasta tossed on creamy basil pesto. It lacked on the pesto flavor and the looks department. That said, I was also right when I thought that it would not be delicious as I would have liked.

Price for Value: ★★★★☆

Our dining experience at this pizza joint in Camp John Hay had been satisfactory. Having tried both the pasta and pizza here, I would most certainly recommend the latter. Carlo’s Pizza is definitely a good place for pizza lovers. Prices are very affordable given the portion and tastes of their food.

Yes! Baguio is a perfect getaway from the summer heat of Manila. There are also other new and unique restaurants there but if you’re craving for pizzas, then you should definitely go for Carlo’s Pizza. 😛

I was at Baguio the other week and saw Carlos Pizza na but didn’t try kasi we thought it’s like any other pizza joint. The pizza looks very yummy. I actually have a belief na walang masamang pizza! HAHA

Oh my I also hate being ignored at restaurants. It makes me feel like I’m raising my hand in a classroom when I have my hand up long enough. Sad that the service wasn’t that exceptional since the food looks good.

The management should consider training their employees on how to provide friendly and active service to the customers. Good customer service would surely help bring up the atmosphere and make the diners feel satisfied more than just the food.

I get so frustrated when the service isn’t what it should be. And being ignored is one of my biggest complaints when it comes to dining out. I realize I’m not the only customer, but if I’m paying for service, I expect to receive it.

Spectacular review! All to often I see bloggers only taught the good about food and places or they’ll take amazing photographs of cupcakes that are actually horrible. I felt your review was honest, insightful and clearly set expectations. Well done!

Thank you! I think it is better to be honest, may the review be good or bad, because this will help other customers in deciding what to eat or order and the restaurants as well to improve their performance. 🙂

It was disappointing especially since there were not much customers to serve. But I still hope some improvement would be made soon because it would be such a waste if their poor service would be remembered more than their great food.

Yeah I really do hope that they improve on that area. Customer service matters a lot in restaurants nowadays. Some restaurants even have gimmicks with their staff members so they can encourage more diners to enter and experience the best their people can offer.

Hehe it’s part of entertaining the readers. I would always want to capture the details through photos and descriptive and words clearly. Sure, give the Philippines a shot and hope you enjoy our wonderful country! 🙂

The food looks good but the service would probably drive me off. It’s one thing if a place is really busy and understaffed, but it’s another one completely when people are standing around twiddling their thumbs or chatting instead of doing their work.

Ugh, i really hate being ignored by restaurant staffs too!!! Sometimes there are so many of them and i have no idea what they’re good of if they never pay attention to the customers! I’ve followed you back on IG and the pic of the restaurant that you commented on is where i recently experienced being ignored too hahaha. It was pretty hilarious though how severely under-trained they were zzz.

Hi Mindy! Thanks for the follow back! Ohh too bad for that restaurant you visited. The lights and the ambiance really looked too lovely and pleasing. Haha the staff may just be half-asleep and half-awake with their eyes opened.

The Nachos looked very yummy and so did the pizza. Loved reading about this little Italian place and I’m like you I absolutely hate when I go to a restaurant and I’m trying to get the waiters attention and they just ignore me. That is not good customer service!

I am really missing the cool temperature in Baguio! Around this time of the year in Manila, we should be experiencing chill winds, right? But we’re sad that it’s still like an ordinary day just cooler than summer. 😐 I just count myself lucky because I’m most of the time in an air-conditioned area.

Yup! Well, there’s also a branch of Carlo’s Pizza in Tagaytay. If you don’t feel like spending a rather long time in traveling just to taste their pizzas and pastas, you can always opt for that one nearer. 🙂

Food and Lifestyle Blogger in Manila

Roch Santos-Sioco is behind the blog Rochkirstin | com. Based in Manila, Philippines, she's a digital marketing strategist by day (and sometimes by night, let's get real) and a blogger with a large appetite for food & travel. She always aims to create content that's meaningful and enjoyable, whether it's a full-length blog post or a 140-character tweet.

When not blogging or eating, you can find her thinking about innovative technologies, planning out where to eat or travel next, or looking up on trends about health, pets, and wine. :)

Get in touch with her through rochkirstin@yahoo.com or view the About page to know more.